Will County to require special permit for pot dispensaries

Highland Park is considering zoning regulations for medical marijuana dispensaries, which could be located along the Route 41 corridor under state law. (Anthony Souffle, Tribune file photo)

Will County Board members said they wanted a bit more say on where dispensaries of medical marijuana could locate and adopted rules requiring a special use permit - and hearing - for dispensaries.

Grow centers will be allowed to locate in some agricultural and industrial areas. Special use permits or hearings will not be required for the grow centers.

The board's land use committee backed rules that did not require special use permits for dispensaries either. But at a meeting of Republican county board members the day before the board meeting, some suggested the county should be more involved with dispensaries.

"You can't run a home business without a special use or sell firearms without one," member Jim Moustis (R-Frankfort) said. "And you want to put no rules on cannabis being sold? I disagree."

Illinois is the latest to join 19 other states that allow marijuana use for medical purposes. Under state law, which took effect Jan. 1, adults can have up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana every two weeks if they are using it to treat one of 40 specific medical conditions such as HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis or severe fibromyalgia. State agencies will issue patients identification cards and regulate dispensaries and growing facilities. State law also prohibits facilities from locating close to residential areas or schools.

Though municipalities and counties cannot prohibit dispensaries or grow centers, state law allows stricter regulations to govern them.

"This is the beginning of legalization of marijuana, it's not the end of it," Moustis said. "We need to establish good rules now."

He noted other states, such as Colorado, started out legalizing marijuana for medical use and now have legalized recreational use of marijuana.

Other board members argued stricter laws could drive businesses - and their revenues - away. State law restricts grow centers to one per state police district or 22 total. State law allows for 60 dispensaries.

"The less restrictions you put on it, the better chance you have of the business locating here," said member Bob Howard (D-Beecher).

He added that a farmer who runs a cultivation center, which does not require a special use permit, should be allowed to have a dispensary as well, pointing out that while liquor stores require special use permits, dispensaries are different because a prescription is needed to purchase the product.

During a public hearing earlier this month, one Lockport resident, Tom Cronin, discussed the potential of locating a grow center - and dispensary - in unincorporated Lockport. Cronin attended the recent board meeting, but declined comment afterward. Attempts to reach him by phone were unsuccessful.